Jennifer Hagel Smith, Widow of Missing George Smith Says He Mixed Alcohol & Prescription Drugs the Night He Went Missing

George Allen Smith IV vanished from a honeymoon cruise in the Mediterranean July 5, 2005. Now after all this time, Jennifer Hagel Smith says, it was alcohol and prescription drugs as Hagel Smith throws George Smith and his reputation under the bus.

So much for not speaking ill of the dead when they cannot defend themselves. Especially when the deceased person is your missing and presumed dead husband. However, Jennifer Hagel Smith for some reason now feels the need to drag the memory of missing honeymooner George Allen Smith IV through the mud. Jennifer Hagel Smith claimed in court that George Smith mixed prescription drugs with alcohol the night he vanished three years ago on the Mediterranean Sea.

Jennifer Hagel Smith said her husband’s family has refused to acknowledge the possibility that George Smith’s intoxication may have been a factor in an accidental death. She said they have insisted Smith was a victim of foul play.

Richard Sheeley, Hagel Smith’s attorney, said Smith’s parents and sister have “conjured up a conspiracy that never existed between the cruise line, investigators and, eventually, even the young woman they once welcomed into their family as a daughter.”

Jennifer Hagel Smith was in Superior Court responding to a legal challenge by Smith’s relatives to a nearly $1.1 million settlement she received from Royal Caribbean cruise line.

Fox News: Widow Says Husband Who Disappeared on Cruise Mixed Alcohol, Prescription Drugs

Missing man’s widow says he mixed booze with pills

Doesn’t this remind one of the phrase, in all due respect? Jennifer Hagel Smith states that she is not saying that prescription drugs and alcohol caused her husband’s death … she’s just saying. Well if we are to take that tact Miss Hagel Smith then there are many things and people that could have been responsible for George Smith’s death isn’t there???

Hagel Smith is not saying the prescription drugs and alcohol caused her husband’s death, Sheeley said.

“But it could have contributed to an accident that caused his death,” he said.

The claim that George Smith used alcohol and prescription drugs the night he disappeared came in a new legal filing Friday in Stamford Superior Court.

He (Hagel Smith attorney) said that there was only a “spec” of blood found in the cabin, and that what was originally believed to be blood on a towel turned out to be makeup. No wonder there was no blood in the cabin … it was all below on the deck!

So why does Jennifer Hagel Smith only now bring up the prescription drug and alcohol angle? She blames the relatives of George Smith for her actions. You know, George Smith’s loved ones who actually want answers. Unlike Jennifer Hagel Smith and Royal Caribbean who would want to hide what happened forever in a million dollar settlement. Why wouldn’t George Smith’s family be upset over the Hagel Smith/Royal Caribbean settlement? The family wanted justice for George, not money!

Michael Jones, a lawyer for Smith’s family, said Sheeley’s comments were not accurate, but declined to elaborate. He said Smith’s family continues to believe he was a victim of foul play.

Hagel Smith did not want to disclose her husband’s use of prescription drugs, but was forced to do so because of his family’s “relentless” litigation, Sheeley said.

Hagel Smith has received numerous documents, including cabin access records and statements made to investigators, Sheeley said.

Memorial Tree Grows Taller; Smith Family Fights on

Economic Slow Down Spells Tourism Worries for Caribbean (Aruba, Puerto Rico …)

The first things to go when there is an economic slow down are the luxuries. One such luxury to Americans are vacations abroad. Thus with the soaring fuel costs and a worrisome US economy, the Caribbean tourism waits in the balance to see the effects of high ticket prices and reduced airline flight. The result will be a decline in tourism to the Caribbean. The second thing to remember is discounted hotel rates to meet hotel occupancy standards mean that occupancy rates are no longer comparable from year to year.

Expensive jet fuel and a soft American economy are threatening to sink Caribbean tourism as airline ticket prices soar and flights are sharply reduced, choking the flow of the vacationers that many tiny islands depend upon.

Tourism is the economic cornerstone of the Caribbean, which drew more than 15 million visitors last year to colonial cities and carefree beaches.

”Billions of dollars of investment are being exposed and thousands of jobs are being exposed,” said Allen Chastanet, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

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Mindy Jordan Falls Overboard Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship … Accident or Foul Play? Video Says Accident, FBI Does Not Close Case

Accident or Foul Play? FBI is still investigating and has not closed the case.

Mindy Jordan has been missing since Sunday, May 11, 2008 when she went overboard while on the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. Since her disappearance it has been speculated whether Mindy Jordan’s fall was an accident or some thing more heinous. Was it an accident or was their foul play? Was she alone or was there any one else present when she went overboard?

Norwegian Dawn

According to the Norwegian Cruise ship company, there is surveillance video tape of 46 year old Mindy Jordan falling overboard. Norwegian Cruise is also stating that Mindy Jordan was alone. However, the FBI is continuing to investigate the incident and have released no conclusions.

In a written statement issued last night, Norwegian Cruise Line said video from surveillance cameras stationed in hallways and on the ship’s exterior has “confirmed that Mindy Jordan was in her stateroom alone at the time of the incident.”

The cruise line also released a timeline indicating that Jordan and Caputo dined with another couple on the ship that evening, and that the two couples returned to their adjacent staterooms at 7:28 p.m.

Eight minutes later, Caputo left the room he shared with Jordan and went next door to visit the other couple, according to the cruise line. 

“From that moment on, Mindy was alone in her stateroom,” the cruise line said in the statement. “At 7:53 p.m., surveillance cameras from the exterior of the ship capture Mindy falling overboard from her balcony, straight into the water.”

In a statement released Tuesday, the cruise line said initial reports indicated that Jordan was trying to climb between balconies when she fell overboard.

FBI begins probe of fall from cruise ship

FBI: Case of woman’s fall from cruise ship not closed

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Missing Norwegian Dawn Cruise Ship Passenger Mindy Jordan Went Overboard was “Clowning Around”

Clowning Around or something far worse? Parents of missing Mindy Jordan state their daughter was in an abusive relationship.

Mindy Jordan has been missing since Sunday May 11, 2008 when she reportedly went overboard the Norwegian Dawn cruise ship. Search efforts were done, but to no avail. According to Jorge Caputo, Jordan’s boyfriend, Mindy Jordan was clowning around and she fell over. Clowning around?

Julie August of Mt. Laurel, N.J., tells the South Jersey Courier Post this morning that her sister, Mindy Jordan, is the missing passenger. She says she and other relatives learned of the 46-year-old nurse’s disappearance from her sister’s boyfriend and traveling companion, Jorge Caputo, who was there at the time of the incident.

“He said she was clowning around and she fell over,” August told the Courier Post, a sister paper to USA TODAY. “Who knows? We weren’t there.”

Relatives of the missing 46 year old nurse Mindy Jordan are calling for an investigation into what happened as they think something is wrong with the story and does not add up. Smell test #1: What person has their spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend go overboard and continues on the cruise to its destination as opposed to staying with the search for their missing loved one?

Clowning around or not, Jordan’s distraught relatives are calling for an investigation into the incident, which occurred just off the coast of New Jersey.

“It’s just not adding up,” August tells the Courier Post. “My sister is a professional. She’s a nurse and a mother. This is not somebody who’s going to be jumping up on a rail.”

Jordan’s mother, Louise Horton of Bordentown, N.J., expressed frustration with Jordan’s boyfriend to WPVI-TV, an ABC affiliate in Philadelphia. She told the station that when she talked to him on the ship, she asked him what he was going to do about the situation, and “he said, ‘well I guess I’m just going to have to go on to Bermuda.’ So, he’s continuing his trip as usual.”

The U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City launched two Dolphin helicopters during the night that spent several hours searching for the missing New Jersey woman. FBI now involved in search for missing cruise passenger.

The mother of missing Mindy Jordan says that her daughter was in an abusive relationship according to CBS2.

The woman who fell to her apparent death off a cruise ship on Mother’s Day off the coast of Atlantic City was the victim of an abusive relationship, her mother told CBS 2.

Louise Horton said she saved her daughter’s voice message fearing the worst – that because of an abusive relationship, she wouldn’t come home.

“Abusive relationships don’t get better,” she told CBS 2.

“That would be totally out of character. She was 4-foot-10, weighed about 98 pounds. She wouldn’t go near a rail, this fellow beat her a couple of times,” said Andrew August, Jordan’s father.

“He was abusive and controlling,” said Horton. “She would never jump. She had two children she loved.”

UPDATE I: Woman’s fall from cruise ship caught on tape

The line issued a statement late Wednesday saying surveillance cameras on the inside and the outside of the ship caught the entire sequence of events leading up to and following the deadly fall of Mindy Jordan, 46, of Pine Hill, N.J., and the line offered a minute-by-minute synopsis of what occurred. 

The details are likely to end growing speculation that foul play was involved in the incident Sunday aboard the Norwegian Dawn, which has drawn national attention in the media. Jordan’s family has fueled the flames of the speculation the past three days by publically criticizing Jordan’s boyfriend and traveling companion, Jorge Caputo, who was with her on the ship.

UPDATE II: Report of video of woman’s fall doesn’t satisfy mother

To futher discuss the case go to Scared Monkeys.net Forum, Missing: Mindy Jordan.

Aruban Public Workers Protetsts Destroying their Own Economy Affecting Cruise Ship Passengers

Aruba, you do not get a second chance to make a first impression. Imagine what the lasting impression was on the cruise  passengers this weekend when you blocked the entrance to the cruise terminal and caused utter chaos. The cruise ship passengers and tourists not only did not get off the boat, do you think they ever will return? If tours are being canceled, roads blocked and tourists are being affected in such an adverse manner, what would be the reason to even book a vacation to Aruba? A vacation is supposed to be just that, a vacation …. not a chore.

Due to the actions that extended to the cruise terminal, some cruise passengers decided to spend the day on their ship, instead of going shopping or taking a tour of the island.  A number of island tours were even cancelled.  Cab drivers on the the cruise terminal were angry, because they have missed income.  

The actions of the public employee strikes are very similar in nature to the actions of law enforcement, the justice department and the Aruban government in the aftermath of the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Making decisions in matters without the slightest idea of the consequences that would occur and  affect tourism and the economy. Not just for the present, but for years to come. 

Entrance harbour blocked (Amigoe: 4/19/2008)

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Royal Caribbean reduced its annual earnings forecast, Fuel Costs & Sluggish Demand in the Caribbean

Royal Caribbean cruise lines state that profits rose; however, reduced its annual earnings forecast as the future looks like rough seas. There seem to be many contributing factors this reduction forecast including high fuel prices, canceled trips and blunt sluggish demand in the Caribbean.

The company charged more for cruises to the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Alaska, destinations that are more profitable than the Caribbean. It has added ships and extended the sailing season in Europe to blunt sluggish demand in the Caribbean, its largest market.

Royal Caribbean operates about 35 ships under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur and Azamara Cruises lines. The company bought Pullmantur SA, a Spanish cruise operator, last year to expand in Europe and reduce its dependence on the Caribbean (Miami Herald)

Tourist Passenger Welfare? 21Norwegian Cruise Line Workers Test Positive For TB

We first reported this story in June when Norwegian Cruise Lines America admitted that one of its ex-crew members aboard the Pride of America was diagnosed with tuberculosis. NCL stated that it “would continue to work closely with the state and federal health officials to ensure the health and safety of all its guests and crew members”.

 It is now being reported that 21 employees of the Hawaii-based Norwegian Cruise Line ship Pride of America tested positive for tuberculosis last month. Are cruise lines taking the welfare of passengers and crew members seriously, Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch does not seem to think so.

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When Hate Crimes and Cruise Ships Collide … 18 year old David Ritcheson Jumps from Cruise Ship After Past Pipe Attack

This is a truly terrible story and one where a cruise line would seemly have no responsibility in the death of 18 year old David Ritcheson, only that they were the vehicle that he ended his life on. It would appear that David Ritcheson took his own life jumping from a cruise ship. David Ritcheson was a past victim of a hate crime who actually just 3 months ago testified in front of Congress (Statement to Congress) about his beating and near death at the hand of hate mongers. Sadly for David Ritcheson the pain, anguish and torment of the incident must have been too much to bare. Although many of his friends stated that they were shocked at his death and that he seemed to be doing well. Unfortunately, I guess he was just hiding it well. The incident and the trials must have taken their toll. Another case of man’s in-humanity to man. God bless you David and may you rest in peace.

A Spring teen who survived a brutal beating with a pipe last year apparently jumped to his death from a Cozumel-bound cruise ship on Sunday. An 18-year-old was observed by “a bunch of people” jumping over the railing of the upper deck of Carnival Cruise Lines’ Ecstasy around 7:35 a.m. Sunday, said Coast Guard spokesman Adam Eggers. Carlos said that the family confirmed it, that it was true,” Dovalina said. “The family heard from the captain of the ship. He went overboard.”

The ship’s crew pulled the body from the water and he was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m. The ship had departed Galveston on Saturday and was a “couple of hundred” miles out, Eggers said. Ritcheson’s death comes less than three months after he testified before Congress about how two teens nearly killed him on April 23, 2006 by repeatedly kicking a patio umbrella stand into his rectum while shouting “white power!” (Houston Chronicle)

Passengers recount teen’s leap from ship

The David Ritcheson case shows us just exactly how traumatising brutal attacks can be. The scars, both physical and mental, sometimes never go away. If not properly treated, individuals feel a hopelessness that they think they can never recover from. We can only hope and pray that David Ritcheson is at peace.

By appearances, Ritcheson was regaining control over his life following a brutal, racist assault in April 2006 that almost claimed it. Most of the surgeries required to repair extensive internal injuries had been done. He had stepped forward at the cost of public embarrassment to testify before Congress in support of expanded hate crimes legislation. He had returned to school, reconnected with his friends and started to live as a regular high school student, albeit one with significant scars, physical and emotional.

On the outside, friends said, Ritcheson appeared to be his same smiling self.

And if he was upset, said Jenny Bonilla, a friend and fellow student at Klein Collins High School, “he never showed it in any way.”

Trent said he last saw Ritcheson in January. He spoke with his parents in recent weeks and heard nothing discouraging.

“But every day, David had pain he lived with, and there were things he could no longer do as a result of his injuries,” Trent said. “And there were scars that were very disfiguring. All I know is, when you’re 18 years old, it’s very hard to see beyond tomorrow or even beyond today.”

Ritcheson had rebuffed all suggestions that he get psychological counseling and wouldn’t even talk to friends about it. Mental health experts say his avoidance of professional help is common for victims of trauma — and dangerous. (Houston Chronicle)

Cruise Ship Passengers Declining in Aruba and the Caribbean … Are Reported Tourism Numbers Accurate?

Some tourism numbers were reported in Aruba indicating a treading water trend in the hotel occupancy rate; however, cruise ship passengers were down significantly. The decline of cruise ships in the Caribbean is a trend that is occurring creating a Cruise ship Blues for many in the Caribbean. However, one wonders when a country is so dependent on one industry like tourism, are the numbers reported accurately?

Available data show that the average occupancy rate of hotels for April 2007 edged up by 0.7 percentage point to 81.8 percent, after falling slightly by 0.5 percentage point to 82.0 percent for March 2007. The Aruba Tourism Authority has not yet published the data on tourist arrivals and nights spent on the island for March and April 2007.

Since February 2007, the number of cruise passengers has been declining. This number fell again in April and May 2007 by, respectively, 17.3 percent and 25.8 percent, in spite of a 3.4 percent rise in ship calls in April 2007 and a notable 75 percent hike in May 2007. A major factor for this development was the cancellation as of January 2007 of the weekly visits of the Carnival Cruise Lines to Aruba. (Central Bank Aruba)

Of course that is if we are to believe that Aruban officials are actually reporting the actual numbers and not using creating accounting. It is hard to believe from actual pictures of few tourist on the beach, people’s accounts who have visited Aruba and common sense crunching of numbers that what is being presented is 100% accurate. We posed the question to Jossy Mansur of Diario, what is tourism really like on Aruba? Its hard to believe that it is close to pre-Natalee missing numbers as we have seen then decline in large numbers since and only increase in some months by small amounts. Does Aruba really provide accurate numbers when reporting?

Tourism hasn’t fared well lately. The hotels are operating with a below normal occupancy for this time of year (we are in the off-season now). The figures published by the government are not reliable. They tend to present favorable numbers that will make them look good, but that do not reflect the reality of the industry. Numerous factors, including the Holloway case, have contributed to the noticeable drop in tourism. Lack of an integral plan, lack of funds, lack of an effective and all-encompassing publicity campaign in the traditional markets, renewed competition from some of the other more aggressive and well-funded islands in the Caribbean, are some of the contributing factors. (Jossy Mansur)

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More Heart Warming Stories from the Cruise Ship Industry … Cruise Ship Charged $30,000 in Medical Fees on Passengers Credit Card

Here is an amazing, touching, caring and heart felt storing coming from the Cruise ship and credit card industry. Your compassion is overwhelming. However, in this case the cruise industry may have been trumped by an even bigger bunch of corporate pirates.

A woman became severely sick, went into a coma while on a cruise. The cruise ship charged her $30,000 in medical fees and put it on her credit card account. One can only imagine the care she was provided by “Doc” from the Love Boat provided; however, the woman’s medical bills were covered by her insurance carrier. Did we also mention that the woman that was billed $30K also died?

Question: My mother got severely sick and went into a coma on a cruise and then died. The cruise ship charged her $30,000 in medical fees and put it on her credit card account. However, her insurance paid the $30,000 and the credit card bill for the medical expense only, but it took a few months and the credit card company hit her account, although they knew she was in a coma and subsequently died, with over-limit fees, finance charges, etc. She has no estate that needed to go through probate. Am I, as her daughter, liable or not?
- NINA (The Daily Breeze)

Enter the credit card industry and wanting to get blood from a stone. Trying to get over limit fees and finance charges from the dead. That’s about right for the credit card industry these days. Wait until they call you threatening that your mother will have bad mark on her credit report and it will affect future purchases.

By the way, the answer is no as long as one was not a joint card holder.